Suicidal Behaviors in a Nationally Representative Sample of School‑Going Adolescents Aged 12–17 Years in Eswatini
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Date
2021
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Springer
Abstract
The burgeoning body of evidence suggests that the aggregated 12-month prevalence
estimates of suicidal behaviors (ideation, planning, and attempt) are relatively higher
among in-school adolescents in Africa, although country-specifc data on the phenomena are still inadequate from the continent. We sought to estimate the 12-month
prevalence and identify some of the correlates of suicide behaviors among school going adolescents in Eswatini. We analyzed the nationally representative data
from the 2013 Eswatini World Health Organization Global School-based Student
Health Survey, using univariate, bivariate, and multivariate statistical approaches.
Of the 2,513 analytical samples, 17.0% (95% confdence interval [CI]: 15.4–18.4%)
reported suicidal ideation, 21.0% (95% CI: 19.3–22.6%) made a suicide plan, and
15.5% (95% CI: 14.1–16.9%) attempted suicide during the previous 12 months. The
final adjusted logistic models indicated health risk behavior (i.e., marijuana use),
adverse interpersonal factors within the family (e.g., intrusion of privacy by parents), and school contextual factors (e.g., bullying victimization, physical fights) to
be associated with increased odds of suicidal behaviors among females. However,
predominantly, school-related interpersonal factors (e.g., bullying victimization,
physical fights) showed strong associations with increased odds of suicidal behaviors among males. Generally, parental monitoring, parental understanding, and
social support at school were associated with reduced odds of suicidal behaviors.
The multi-level nature of our findings underscores the need for multi-contextual and
multi-sectoral intervention and prevention programs and policy approaches targeted
at mitigating the onset of suicidal ideation and possible transition to suicidal planning, attempt, and potential death by suicide in this young population.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
Adolescents, Attempted suicide, Eswatini, Ideation, Suicidal behavior, Suicide